Wataniya Mobile Palestine has signed a US$125m loan with a group of lenders to develop mobile services in the West Bank and Gaza.
The financing is split between a US$60m facility provided by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Qatar…
Wataniya Mobile Palestine has signed a US$125m loan with a group of lenders to develop mobile services in the West Bank and Gaza.
The financing is split between a US$60m facility provided by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Qatar National Bank, and a US$65m syndicated loan from several other financial institutions.
These syndicated lenders are Bank of Palestine, the Housing Bank for Trade and Finance, Cairo Amman Bank, HSBC Bank Middle East and Palestine Commercial Bank.
“IFC continues to customise its financing to meet our unique needs as we grow and expand our reach,” stated Bassam Hannoun, Wataniya Mobile CEO. “IFC is helping us enter a new market, Gaza, which has nearly 40% of the Palestinian population. It is a market that needs competitiveness and is keen for a choice in mobile telecom services.”
Wataniya Mobile, which is 48.45%-owned by Kuwait’s Wataniya Group, is already present in the West Bank, having launched operations in 2009. It has approximately 500,000 subscribers.
The region currently has two mobile operators with Paltel being the largest one.
Dimitris Tsitsiragos, IFC vice president for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, said: “Telecom services are a vital part of everyday life, and lowering the cost of communication and improving service levels will contribute to the continued economic development of the West Bank and Gaza.”
IFC said it already provided a US$30m to Wataniya Mobile in 2009 to help it enter the Palestinian market. In 2011, it invested US$3m to support the company’s IPO on the Palestinian stock exchange.
